The Texan and the Tortallan
by ObsessivePerfectionist
Summary: Alanna at sixteen is accidentally transported to a town in Texas. What will she do-- and how will she get back home? UPDATED 414!
1. Chapter 1

Alanna of Trebond, better known as Alan to everyone at the palace, was having a good year, for the most part. She was squire to Prince Jonathan, nearly as good as Alex in swordsmanship, and was good friends with the King of the Rogues. The most important thing, though, was that Alanna had made it through six years of disguising herself as a boy with no one guessing. Page training was over, and she was halfway through being a squire. The worst spot in her life was Roger, the duke of Conté. She was deathly afraid that he would kill Jon, but since she had no proof, what could she do?  
As she was walking through the palace, Alanna was pondering this important question. It wasn't until she was wandering through the mages' wing that she even realized how far from her rooms she was. With a sigh, Alanna turned around and accidentally stumbled into a door.  
The angry face of an elderly mage popped out of the room, yelling and screaming at Alanna. She backed away, saying, "I'm sorry sire! I truly did not mean to!" The elderly mage's expression did not change as he glared at her in fury and gestured wildly in her direction. Alanna screamed in terror as her world dissolved around her. It's okay, the rational part of her brain informed her. Jon will make this crazy mage pay. George will find me... it won't be long until I'm back at the palace again. You can't take away the Prince's squire and come off with nothing to pay! This was her (semi) comforting thought as she slowly closed her eyes, willing herself to rest. Maybe this is all a dream...  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Sixteen-year-old Melissa Peikmik tied her cleats, getting ready for the big soccer game coming up in just an hour. This was the game against their huge rivals, the Lions, and Melissa would be there on time if she had to wreck three hundred other cars on the way to the field. She was sure to put a change of clothes in her bag for after the game, knowing that the team might go out for pizza or something to celebrate if they won. Grabbing her keys, she yelled, "Mom! I'm going to Clayton Field for the game! Be back later!" and dashed out to the driveway, where her car stayed while not in use, as there was no more room in the garage..  
She opened the door of her silver Saturn, which she had just bought two months before. After throwing her red sports bag onto the passenger seat, she put the key in the ignition and backed up to go pick up her friend Becca.  
"Mel! Hey!" Becca called as Melissa threw her bag into the backseat. No matter how hard she tried, she knew that she would never be able to convince her teammates that her name was not, repeat not, "Mel." Most people had given up her childhood name, but some people were just die- hards. "All right," Becca said, buckling herself into the front seat. "Let's go kick the Lions' butts!" They zoomed off as Melissa began to lecture Becca about how now they were going to be late.  
As always, Melissa was overreacting a little. They made it to the field with plenty of time, and when the game started, both of them were perfectly warmed up and stretched. "Kick grass!" the team cheered, and made their way onto the field.  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
* * * * * * * * * * * * Goddess, please let me be back in the palace. Please... Alanna thought, knowing that this was just barely possible. Gods, surely the Trebonds have some stored up luck from something, oh please. I have to be in the palace. I absolutely have to be! Braving the inevitable, she opened her eyes and looked around.  
Immediately Alanna wished that she hadn't. "Oh, Mithros," she whispered as she searched this... well, whatever it was, it had grass on it—for anything familiar. Standing stock-still, Alanna hoped that maybe, if she just closed her eyes and prayed for a second, she would be transported back to the palace or wake up from this strange dream.  
It didn't work.  
Alanna let out a little moan of despair as she glanced around once more. Whatever these girls were doing, it seemed to be ending, but... wait! Are these girls? They're wearing very, very short breeches! Oh Goddess, they're showing the world their legs! But I bet they're extremely comfortable... The two parts of Alanna's mind, conventional and progressive, battled as she looked at the girls' strange clothing. Well, it's not dresses, she thought wryly. But then, running and kicking that ball would be awfully hard to do in dresses. Maybe it's some kind of new practice drill that I can report to the training master!  
Well, whatever she was doing here, at least they weren't wearing  
dresses.  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
Running off the field, Melissa's team screamed triumphantly. The Lions followed behind more slowly, trudging in their victorious footsteps to reach a frustrated coach. "We did it!" a teammate, Lea, called out. Melissa winced as she saw the Lions' fierce goalkeeper start to tell Lea to shut her mouth and stop gloating. She had been under the wrath of Number 8 many times before.  
As Melissa slowed to a jog and then a walk, she noticed a stranger standing on the far edge of the field. "Hey," Becca said happily as she walked over and noticed the stranger. "Looks like they just wandered out of a Renaissance festival!" Melissa had to smile—this stranger did look more than a little out of place. From this distance, she couldn't tell if the stranger was male or female, so Melissa jogged over to find out.  
"Hi!" Melissa called once she was a few yards away. The stranger jolted as s/he realized that Melissa's comment was directed toward him/her. I wonder if they're lost... "What's your name?"  
Instead of answering Melissa's question, the stranger had one for her. "Where am I? What country?"  
Could they be more clueless? Well, whatever. "Um. You're in the United States of America... in Pembrook, Texas. Are—are you lost or something? Would you like to use my cell phone?"  
This information had done nothing to reassure the stranger. In fact, it made him (?) look more agitated. "What? I'm not in Tortall? I've never heard of this United States... and is Texas or Pembrook a country within a country? And what in Mithros' name is a cell phone?"  
Is there a lunatic asylum nearby? Melissa thought, then instantly felt ashamed of herself. She never had been good at being nasty or sarcastic. "Well, I've never heard of Tortall, but, um, Texas and Pembrook aren't countries. Look, why don't you come with me..." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
Alanna could not remember ever being more terrified. One of the girls showing her legs had come over to try to help and she could hardly say anything without sounding like a total and complete idiot. Obviously this girl couldn't tell whether Alanna was a girl or a boy, and she didn't know what was going on. Of course, neither did Alanna, but whatever. A terrible thought occurred to her—what if this was some other planet? What if this girl (Alanna didn't believe she had introduced herself) was sounding perfectly normal and Alanna was the one sounding like a half-wit? "Oh, Goddess," she whispered. Catching up to the girl, who had turned, she said, "What's your name?"  
The girl flipped her light brown braid and said, "Melissa. Melissa Peikmik. Um, I have to catch up with my team, but if you want to come, you can. I'm sure someone could find you some clothes..."  
"I'm Alanna of Trebond, squire to Prince Jonathan of Conté, the heir of Tortall," she announced proudly. After all, if being Jon's squire wasn't an honor, what was? She refused to think about the many court ladies who believed that having "fun" with him was a great honor, as well.  
Melissa looked confused. "Why 'of Trebond'? Why not just Alanna Trebond? And what on earth do you mean by squire, or Prince Jonathan? I don't think people in general have squires much anymore, much less princes! I mean, look at Prince Harry. He hardly spends his time as with a squire or whatever. Do you need some clothes to borrow? 'Cause I'm sure a girl can lend you some..."  
This world was stranger than Alanna had thought... Thom would be so much better at this. "A squire is a step in becoming a knight, which is the step that I am on. Prince Jonathan is the prince of Tortall, which most certainly exists. I am possibly insane, as insanity runs in my family, but it is probably in ways that do not concern you. I would most certainly like some clothes. Thank you very much for your hospitality in my time of need," she recited as if from a textbook.  
Maybe people don't talk like that in... Pembrook, Alanna realized belatedly as Melissa stared, confused. Shrugging it off, she followed Melissa over to a group of girls to experience what Pembrook, Texas was like.  
  
A/N: Please review! This is my first fanfic, but I'll take CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. No negativity please! 


	2. Chapter 2 Pizza and Melly

Disclaimer (as I forgot last time): Alanna and the palace belong to Tamora Pierce. I own the plot, Melissa, Becca, and all Texas characters. Much as I would like to, I don't own Pizza Hut either. And you know, these disclaimers are really pointless. Because if the characters did belong to me, would I be posting them on fanfiction.net? No, I would be selling them. But that's beside the point.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
"Hey, Mel!" Becca called as Melissa and Alanna walked over in the team's direction. "Who's your new friend?"  
  
With a wink, Melissa said, "This is Alanna of Trebond. She's the squire to Prince Jonathan of Conté, the heir of Tortall. I believe that's the country she's from." Melissa's tone made it easy to understand that she thought Alanna was crazy and to just humor her. "Anyone got some extra clothes for her to wear? There's a restroom nearby," she remarked, the last comment to Alanna.  
  
"Oh, I have some clothes," a striker named Hannah said. "Are jeans okay? Size eight? The shirt is just perfect for this weather. I'm Hannah, by the way."  
  
Alanna looked very confused to Melissa. Either this girl really doesn't have a clue what's going on, or she's extremely good at faking it, she thought. "Um, that's fine," Alanna said hesitantly. "Where's the restroom? I should probably change."  
  
Smiling, Melissa showed her the way to the restroom. Her face may have shown that she was perfectly satisfied by Alanna's story, but inside she was anything but. If Alanna had really never seen jeans before, why was she handling this so well? * * * * * * * What in Mithros' name are jeans? Alanna wondered as she walked toward the restroom to change. Hopefully she could figure out how to put them on, but if she couldn't... she just couldn't think about it. The thought was too embarrassing for words. Looking curiously at the clothes Hannah had lent her, she discovered that the jeans looked a bit similar to the trousers sometimes worn by the horse trainers and hostlers. Perhaps the other material was a top then? It was light pink and said "Abercrombie" in script across it. And what-or who- is Abercrombie? Sighing, Alanna figured that she would figure it all out later. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Um, Melissa? How do you put this clothing on?"  
  
Apparently Melissa now thought more than ever that Alanna was completely insane, with the look on her face. Alanna fought a grin that was threatening to creep onto her face at Melissa's expression. "You—you've really never seen jeans? Or a t-shirt?"  
  
"Well. No," Alanna said. Was this as abnormal as Melissa was making it sound? Perhaps everyone wore these. They certainly looked comfortable...  
  
With a giant heave, Melissa carefully explained. "Okay, so these jeans, they're like pants..." * * * * * * * * * This girl was far weirder than Melissa could have ever imagined, even in her wildest dreams. Seriously. She didn't even know how to put on jeans. So how exactly was she supposed to explain this to her mother? Because it sure looked like Melissa was going to be stuck with her for a while.  
  
As the two girls reached the restroom, Melissa checked to make sure Alanna still knew what to do with the clothes. Satisfied, she waited outside the door for Alanna to finish changing.  
  
When Alanna emerged, she could almost pass for someone normal. The girls couldn't do anything about the shoes, but the clothes? Much better. Alanna actually looks... pretty, Melissa realized in surprise. Clearing her throat, she said, "Can we do something with your hair? And I'm sure Becca will want to do your makeup."  
  
From Alanna's expression, Melissa was guessing that she didn't have a clue who Becca was. Well, Melissa couldn't do much about that. And surely they had makeup in Tortall. Whatever that was. Melissa had never heard of Tortall, and obviously none of the girls on the team did, either. It was possible that Alanna was making it up, but she just didn't seem like she would be good at lying to a lot of people. Jolting out of her thoughts, Melissa remembered that she had actually been talking to Alanna. "So? Can I do your hair?"  
  
Alanna didn't seem totally happy with the idea, but too bad for her. Once Melissa and Becca got hold of her, the two teammates knew that she would be emerging looking completely different. * * * * * * * * * Amazed, Alanna stared at the reflection in the mirror. This couldn't be her. It just couldn't be. She looked like... well, one of the leg-baring girls. It seemed that they were teammates of some sort; what team, Alanna couldn't imagine. Certainly in Tortall, there wasn't anything like this sport they were playing. But I'm not in Tortall, she reminded herself. It was hard to keep remembering this all the time. She would be constantly comparing this Texas and Tortall all the time anyway.  
  
The corset that Alanna always wore to keep her chest flat was bothering her, now that she had a new top on. It also looked odd underneath—you could see the corset's outline beneath the top. There was nothing that Alanna could do about it at the moment, though. Maybe later, Melissa or... what was her name? ...Becca would have something different for her to wear underneath. She would just have to be patient.  
  
"Well," Alanna said, still looking at her reflection, "what now?"  
  
"If you want to come, the team's going out for pizza at Pizza Hut," Becca volunteered. "We always have a huge pig-out after the game."  
  
Just when I think I've got it figured out... "Er. Well. What's pizza?" Alanna asked hesitantly. This seemed like a fact that she was supposed to know.  
  
Becca and Melissa started laughing uncontrollably. "You're really funny, you know that, Alanna?" Melissa managed to get out between her giggles. "That's hilarious!"  
  
"No, I truly have never heard of pizza before in my life. What is it? Tortall isn't exactly like...Texas, you know..." Alanna trailed off, sighing. She could see from the looks on their faces (showing that they weren't going to stop laughing anytime soon) that this was going to be a long wait.  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Once they had gotten that straightened out, the three girls headed off to Pizza Hut. Melissa had to stifle her giggles again as Alanna looked suspiciously at her slice of cheese pizza, poking and prodding it before finally eating it.  
  
Getting Alanna in the car had been an interesting experience as well. She made it very clear that in Tortall, everyone rode their horses if they needed to go anywhere.  
  
Unfortunately for Alanna, she was not in Tortall, and unless she could figure out a way to get back, she wouldn't be there anytime soon. Once they finally convinced her that the car was not going to eat her and she was buckled in, she was scared to death by Melissa's sound system. Really, what's so scary about "Where is the Love?" Melissa thought. It was, after all, a very good song. Of course, Alanna probably hadn't heard of half of the things in the song, though. Terrorism, the CIA, the KKK... and that's just a few things!  
  
All of Melissa's teammates found Alanna fascinating, although she clearly didn't know quite what to make of them. A good portion of the team, twelve girls, had come along to Pizza Hut, and it seemed that they were intimidating Alanna a little, with all their questions.  
  
There was a brief lull in the conversation, before Kara, a defender, leaned forward. "I've been dying to know the whole time—is your prince dude, Jonathan, right? Is he hot?"  
  
"Kara!" the team squealed. Though Alanna was obviously discomforted with any mention of Jonathan, all of the girls had secretly been wondering. Well, how could they help it?  
  
This question confused Alanna immensely. "Hot? Well, I assume that he gets hot in the summertime, like everybody else. The palace can be very warm around then, lasting into mid-September—"  
  
"No," Kara emphasized, cutting her off. "We want to know if he's easy on the eyes. Cute. Handsome! So? What's he like?"  
  
Violet eyes showed that Alanna now understood what they were talking about. "Well... he's fairly tall, with black hair and blue eyes... what else?"  
  
Hannah grinned. "Alanna, what Kara really wants to know is if he's built. You know, muscular."  
  
Melissa was sensing some definite discomfort in this conversation; obviously, Alanna couldn't wait to get out of it. With a sigh, she stood up. "We'd love to stay and chat, girls, but I have to go home and convince my parents on why Alanna should stay with us for a while when they've never heard of her in their life! See you at practice Monday, or at school. Becca? Let's go!" Alanna smiled with relief and waved bye to the overenthusiastic and hyper team, happy that they had won.  
  
Melissa was happy, as well, but not quite that happy. She was usually the calm one on the Pembrook Rangers; probably the reason she was team captain. Though Melissa loved her teammates, you couldn't deny that some were a little... flaky, for lack of a better word. Lea, for instance, would shout insults even at Number 8 on the Lions—never a good move, she reflected as the three girls climbed into the Saturn.  
  
"Okay," Becca started the instant they were in the car. "To get Alanna into your house, Mel, you need a story. And this story needs to be good. It can't be just some little thing that you make up while pulling up your driveway. So. Here's your story, Alanna. You were visiting from New York—just wait—"she said, at Alanna's confusion. "—and got separated from your family. All of the flights they could afford were completely booked for the next three weeks, and so Alanna was going to stay with her aunt Rosalie. But Rosalie got sick and couldn't possibly have Alanna with her, so could she please stay with us, Mom?" Becca said the last part as if she was the one making the case to Mrs. Peikmik. Melissa gave a little laugh at how Becca thought she would approach her mother. Giving Alanna a wink, Becca returned to her speech. "Cause Melly, you know that I am the expert at sucking up to people. And your mother will be pushed over by the same techniques that cause everyone from the principal to the cheerleaders to the flutists to the artists to love me."  
  
"You forgot about the people who hate you, Becca... let's see. The tennis players, 'cause you screwed the team into the ground last year, our math teacher, 'cause you're smarter than her, our Language Arts teacher, because your compositions aren't as good as last year so they aren't as good as mine—"  
  
"Hey!" Becca interrupted, looking at Alanna for help. She didn't get the response she was looking for. With a sigh, she let "Melly" continue.  
  
Melissa cleared her throat. "Then, there's the cafeteria monitors, because you like to start food fights, and oh, how could I forget? Samantha Walgid, only the most popular, prettiest, and richest girl in this school—second to you, of course. Also, and most importantly, my name is not 'Melly'!"  
  
Both Alanna and Becca were wincing at the end of the speech. "Melly—I mean, Mel," Becca meekly whispered, "you know that Samantha is a lot more popular than me. The rest—well," she laughed suddenly, "how could I deny it? The tennis team hates me, Mrs. Peterson and Mr. Likenim can't stand to be in my presence for more than the time they're paid for, the cafeteria monitors have no sense of humor, and Samantha Walgid gets jealous too easily. After all, she doesn't have a best friend like Mel to keep her in line!" The last part was directed at Alanna. "So, Mel, do you want me to make a case for you before you drop me off? Or are you going to try it on your own?  
  
Pursing her lips in consideration, Melissa flicked on her blinker to turn right. "Ah... I guess you can come and tell Mom your fascinating story about the girl from New York, whose parents are dirt poor... Alanna, is there any resemblance? Just kidding, Becca!" * * * * * * * *  
These girls might be strange, but they're very nice, Alanna thought to herself as they pulled up to what Alanna took to be Melissa's home. It looked odd to Alanna, but the whole road of houses all looked the same. Certainly a change from the palace! A sudden bout of homesickness came along with this thought. Pushing it away, she stepped out of the car after Becca and Melissa. Once inside, a woman that Alanna took to be the housekeeper greeted them. Alanna stared in awe, looking at this large, plump woman with the light brown hair similar to Melissa's and flowing, loose trousers in black. This lady was wearing elegant pearls around her neck and an ivory shirt that resembled a tunic. Her hair was swept up on the back of her head and was kept there with a large pearl clip, matching her necklace.  
  
"Hello, girls!" the lady called jubilantly. "How was the game? Sorry your father and I couldn't make it, darling. These silly deals! Surely the Antigonis can go a day without coming up with a ridiculous new requirement." Sighing, she turned to Alanna. "And who's this, honey? A new teammate? Must be very talented, to make the Rangers mid-season."  
  
Becca flashed whom Alanna now had decided was Melissa's mother her brightest smile. "Actually, Mrs. Peikmik," she began, "This is Alanna Trebond, and Alanna's not on the Rangers. She's had the most terrible luck recently. You see, her parents and she were visiting her aunt Rosalie over in Fort Worth. They flew all the way here from New York! Spent their entire savings. But Alanna, poor thing, had to go to the restroom and as a result, missed the plane! You see, the Trebonds had to go ahead on the plane and leave Alanna, because how else would they get back? The family resources have been running dry. And Alanna here was going to stay with her Aunt Rosalie, but Rosalie came down with pneumonia! Her aunt Rosalie is elderly anyway, and is now going to have to stay in the hospital for a while. So poor Alanna has nowhere to stay until her parents scrape up enough money to send her home—and who knows how long that will take."  
  
Mrs. Peikmik's hand flew up to her chest. "Oh, poor dear! Would you like to stay here with us until your parents can send you home? You can call them tonight, don't worry about paying us back."  
  
Alanna gave Mrs. Peikmik a small smile. "Thank you for your generosity in our troubled time, Mrs. Peikmik."  
  
A small look passed between Becca and Melissa. Inwardly, Alanna smiled. Surely they hadn't expected her to be such an accomplished actress and liar. Why, she had been lying for over half a decade now!  
  
"Well, I'm sure it'll be pleasant having a teenager with manners in my house, Alanna. Please, call me Madeleine, not Mrs. Peikmik. After all, you will be a guest in our home. I'm sure Will won't mind."  
  
Smiling gratefully at Madeleine, Alanna suddenly remembered. "Oh! We need to take Becca home now, don't we?"  
  
Madeleine sighed. "Actually, since the Rangers just beat the Lions, Becca, why don't you spend the night? The three of you can go out to the movies, all right? There's a new movie that you've been wanting to see, isn't there, Melly?"  
  
Becca could hardly repress her giggles at hearing Madeleine call Melissa "Melly". Alanna, too, was having trouble keeping from laughing. "Alanna," Becca managed to get out, "I think I need to tell my mom that I'm spending the night. Come with me?" Nodding, the two girls raced out of the room.  
  
Behind them, they heard the distinct sound on Melissa's voice. "Mo- ther! My name is not Melly!"  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
A/N: Thank you so much to Robinwyn, my first reviewer! I hope this chapter isn't too 'stereotypical', and that you enjoy it. WoD- oh yeah. Longhorns and Tex-Mex—best of the best. Please review everyone! 


	3. Chapter 3 More New Experiences

Disclaimer: Okay, if you thought I owned Alanna or Tortall, why are you in the Tamora Pierce section? Anyways, Pembrook and basically everything in it (no movies) belong to me. Anything you don't recognize is mine, as far as I know. Especially Josh and Hannah.  
  
"Okay, so, like, we have totally got to see Jersey Girl," Hannah said as she climbed into Melissa's car on the way to the movie theater. "Ben Affleck is soo hot!"  
  
Snorting, Becca informed Hannah, "No way. Jersey Girl looks like the stupidest movie ever. And that's including Labyrinth."  
  
Melissa shrugged. "Actually, I kind of liked that movie."  
  
Becca and Hannah's eyes grew to about twice their normal size, as the frown of confusion on Alanna's face grew bigger. "No. Way," Hannah managed to get out in disbelief. "Ohmigod. That goblin king was wearing, like, lip gloss. And those really tight pants. And they were all singing. Like, all the time." Becca nodded in agreement.  
  
"Mel, you feeling all right?" she asked, putting a hand on Melissa's forehead. "Cause no one in their right minds could actually... like that movie."  
  
Rolling her eyes, Melissa said, "Do you want me to make a list?" As she began on the list of all the people that she knew who had liked Labyrinth, Alanna bit her lip, trying to figure all of this out. She was dressed like the other four girls in the Saturn now, but she didn't act like them. Alanna was just... different. Well, of course she was. Being from Tortall wasn't exactly the same as being from Pembrook.  
  
Noticing Alanna's confusion, Becca tried to explain. "So, movies are like where you see moving pictures of people on a big screen. Like plays that they've recorded so that you can watch them over and over again. D'you get it?"  
  
Blankly, Alanna nodded. Obviously Becca wanted her to 'get it,' and Alanna could certainly pretend. "So what's... Jersey Girl about?" she asked in an undertone.  
  
"Well, you see, there's this dad, who's been raising a girl on his own since his wife died in childbirth or something. And he doesn't date or anything. Then he meets this video store clerk—Liv Tyler—and then they fall in love and the dad has to learn to trust and all that romantic crap," she quickly said.  
  
Alanna thought she was keeping up. "So... if you don't want to see Jersey Girl, what do you want to see? Cause I don't think I want to see that. A little too close to home."  
  
Smiling, Becca was happy to tell Alanna about her choice. "Well, I want to see The Prince and Me, where Julia Stiles is this college student and this prince comes and pretends to be just another college student, named Eddie. And then they like fall in love and make out and stuff, and all that romantic crap. But then Julia finds out that Eddie's actually the crown prince of Denmark, and she has to go get married to him and be the queen and all that jazz."  
  
Alanna sighed. Just when I thought I understood... "So you don't want to see the 'romantic crap' in Jersey Girl, but you really want to see all of the romantic crap in The Prince and Me?  
  
"Exactly!"  
  
She sighed again. Maybe she would just give up and never understand. At the moment, it sounded like a much better plan.  
* * * * * * * * * * * * *  
All five girls were standing outside, waiting in line for tickets to The Prince and Me. Naturally, Becca had won. Alanna had seen it coming and decided to not protest at all about a movie with a prince in it. However, from Becca's comments, Alanna gathered that this prince of Denmark wouldn't be jousting.  
  
Stepping up to the ticket window, Melissa gave the cashier who was obviously a student at the local college her flirtiest smile, tossing her long hair. "Five for The Prince and Me," she said, still smiling. "Have you seen that? I've heard different things from different people—either it's really good or its, like, really bad."  
  
The cashier was captivated and not only told Melissa his opinion on the movie (thoroughly irritating the others in line behind them) but gave them a discount so that everyone's tickets were just four dollars apiece.  
  
"So that's why we keep you around, Mel!" Becca joked. Hannah and Lea joined in the teasing as Melissa blushed and insisted that she wasn't flirting that much.  
  
Lea snorted at that. "Right, Mel. Just like Queen Elizabeth I didn't mean that much to have Mary Queen of Scots killed. Um, you so wanted the discount, and didn't care that that geeky college boy probably hadn't had a girl flirt with him since about fifth grade."  
  
Things continued in this vein for a while until finally Hannah looked around and asked, "Where's Alanna?" * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
Alanna was, in fact, inside the movie theater, completely lost. Somehow she had gotten separated from the others when they were entering the theater and getting in the line for concessions. Since Alanna had never even heard of a movie theater before, she was totally hopeless on finding the other girls again. Looking both ways for them as she hurried across the lobby, Alanna ran straight into a guy about her age with dirty blonde hair and a big smile.  
  
"Whoa!" he said, laughing as he steadied her by the shoulders. "You okay? Are you new in Pembrook?"  
  
Embarrassed, Alanna said, "Um. I'm fine. Kind of new here. Look, have you seen Melissa Peikmik? And Becca, Hannah, and Lea? We're here together... oh. My name's Alanna, by the way."  
  
Putting out a hand for Alanna to shake, he introduced himself. "I'm Josh Nevem. Mel and the girls? They're nice; I've known Becca since the day she was born. I'm basically a foster older brother at their house, except that I live down the street. But I don't think I've seen them... c'mon, we'll go look." Grabbing Alanna's hand, he pulled her across the lobby to the concessions booth. "What movie are you seeing?"  
  
"The Prince and Me," Alanna said as she looked up at him to study his features a little more. He had hazel eyes and a strong chin, which was good. Alanna couldn't stand weak chins. Josh was considerably taller than her, but then, everybody was.  
  
"Oh, yeah, of course, you've got Bec with you. I forgot. She always gets her way, as you might have noticed," Josh grinned. "There they are!" he said, pulling Alanna toward them. "Hey BECCA!" he called, noticing the girls frantically looking around. "Looking for someone?"  
  
Becca saw him and screamed, running toward him. "Ohmigod! I haven't seen you for like two months!" Melissa, behind her, gave Becca a jab in the ribs. "Oh, and thanks for finding Alanna for us."  
  
With a heart-stopping grin, Josh said, "No problem. It was a pleasure. See y'all around." He turned to go.  
  
Pulling on his shoulder, Hannah told him, "Oh no you don't. Now that we've found you, you have to come to The Prince and Me with us cause you ditched all of us for two months. So come on now, surely the wonderful Regal Cinemas employee can take a couple of hours out of his busy schedule picking up popcorn to watch Julia Stiles make out with some guy?"  
  
He sighed. "Hannah, do I even have a choice?"  
  
Hannah grinned. "Did you really think that you did? Now come on. I want a good seat, since I don't get to see Jersey Girl."  
  
Josh gave a snort that he was trying to disguise. "Um, why would anyone pay money to see that kind of crap? Even if Liv Tyler is in it. I mean, come on, Ben Affleck should have stayed in his little drama with J.Lo. He had much better publicity then." Hannah gave a shriek and pretended to punch him.  
  
Alanna laughed inwardly. She could definitely see that either his opinions had rubbed off on Becca, or hers on him. Either way, two Beccas would certainly be interesting. * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
Somehow, Josh had ended up sitting next to Alanna in the darkened movie theater, with Becca on his other side, much to Hannah's disgust. Hannah had been half in love with him for a couple of years, and he never seemed to treat her more than as a little sister who was ignored most of the time.  
  
Melissa watched the movie thoughtfully, her mind more on Alanna's dilemma than Paige and Eddie's. Turning to glance at her, she saw Josh looking down at Alanna with that gleam in his eye again. After knowing Josh for as long as she could remember, Melissa knew by now what that certain gleam in his eye meant.  
  
Josh had a new girl in his sights. And that girl was very possibly the strangest, most mysterious in Pembrook.  
  
Naturally. Josh never could settle for second-best, perhaps why he had a long string of ex-girlfriends following him around, many of them still in love with him—or they thought they were anyways, much to Melissa's bewilderment. Sure, Josh was charismatic, but he wasn't that great. At least not in her eyes... but then, he was like a big brother to her.  
  
Really, Melissa was feeling sorry for Alanna. Unlike Alanna, she knew that recently Hannah had decided to go after Josh and get him as her boyfriend no matter what it took. Stupid as that decision was to Melissa, Hannah definitely followed through on her promises.  
  
It would be an interesting time... and the funniest part was that Alanna probably didn't have a clue what was going on.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
Melissa was right in her assumption that Josh was the last thing on Alanna's mind. Well, maybe not the last, but he was certainly down there. Currently, her focus was on Paige, Eddie, and how on earth that movie screen worked. She was sure that there had to be someone Gifted involved in the process of making it, but how? Maybe Jonathan could figure it out, once she got back to the palace.  
  
Alanna gave an inward sigh. It always came back to that—how to get home and to the palace again. Fascinating as Pembrook, Texas was to her, Alanna couldn't stay there forever. She had other priorities.  
  
I wonder what Jon and George are doing right now... * * * * * * * * * * * *  
At that moment, Jonathan was riding to the Dancing Dove, in his "Johnny" disguise. What had that crazy mage been doing, making Alanna disappear? And where on earth had he sent her?  
  
It had been three exhausting days for Jonathan since Alanna had mysteriously disappeared, and still there was no clue what had happened to her. The crazy mage, as Jon had been referring to him, was actually named Polin Machewell, and was exceedingly frightened on this sudden occurrence. He had no more idea than Jon about what had happened to Alanna. So in desperation, Jon was going to George. If anyone knew what to do about Alanna, he would.  
  
Reaching the gates, he went into the inn and ordered a pint of lemonade. Being intoxicated from alcohol would not be a good way to greet George. Somehow Jon knew that he wasn't going to be terribly pleased about this.  
  
George came in at that moment, greeting Jon warmly. Returning the greetings, Jonathan was then at a loss of what to say. "Er... George? T- three days ago, Alanna sort of bumped into this mage. And..." he paused.  
  
Waiting patiently for a moment, George then said gently, "If there's somewhere you're going with it, you might want to get there soon. Because I can tell that this wasn't just Alanna being clumsy."  
  
"No, not exactly. You see, this mage, Polin Machewell... he shouted something at her, even he has no idea what is was... and Alanna just disappeared. Three days ago. And we don't know where she is."  
  
There was a lull for a moment before George exploded. "What do you mean you don't bloody know where she is?" he shouted. Jon winced. This was going to be a very long explanation. Perhaps he shouldn't have waited so long to tell George...  
  
George was still ranting and raving five minutes later. Jon had the feeling that this was going to take a while, so he signaled for another pint of lemonade. Might as well stay hydrated.  
  
To be continued...  
  
A/N: Thanks to all my awesome reviewers! Here we go... Fred: lol, you had me scared until I kept reading! Thanks for reviewing though and KEEP REVIEWING... or I'll make baad things happen! ( Robynwyn: Thank you! Lol, thanks for not saying "Melly," she's very... possessive about that. Mel's mom is kind of odd—she's a very big success with her business, but totally gullible when it comes to her daughter. And Becca's had years of experience sucking up to her. The girls are going to start asking more questions soon, but they still kind of are taking the explanation that they're crazy, because they're more into Teen People than Tamora Pierce. That's what I've decided, anyways. I don't mind rambling at all! Kasuima: Wow, your username's really cool and I like it a lot, but I have no clue what it means. Thanks! I try to make it as realistic as I can, and I use myself and my friends as examples. Hope you review again! Anonymous miss: Thanks so much for putting me on your favorites list! I updated, so I'm hoping that I'm staying there. Thank you, I try to make it as individual as I can. Divine-Bovines: Thank you! Keep reviewing! MistyFox14: Aww, that's so nice. I love it when you all tell me that you love my story. I hope I see your name again!  
  
All of you tell your friends to review this and you review too!! Look, I updated faster than I ever have before... which is kind of sad, considering how long it took me. Oh well! Also thanks to MistyFox14, kasuima, and pranksterqueen, who put me on their author alert. I'll try to update as soon as I can. In the next chapter we're going to have more Josh, my new character... he's based on my cousin, who's actually named Josh, so he should be easy to write, but I can't promise when an update will come. Hope to see your name on my review list! 


	4. Chapter 4 Mirrors

Disclaimer: Alanna, George, Jon, and Tortall belong to Tamora Pierce. Pembrook and Melissa, Becca, Hannah, Lea, Josh, and anything you don't recognize belong to me. Much to my dismay, Regal Cinemas and The Prince and Me do not. Oh, and the crazy mage is mine too. Polin Machewell. Yep. Even though Polin doesn't appear in this chapter. Whatever. And I don't own Advil either.  
  
A/N: Sorry about the wait for an update. I was going to try and do the fourth chapter really fast, and then I had a severe case of writer's block. And then my Internet connection broke. Yes, again. Even now I'm kind of putting off writing the actual thing as I'm writing this author's note that maybe will go on forever and then I won't have to write it! Um, or maybe not. Here we go!  
  
Chapter Four—Mysterious  
  
Much as Becca loved and adored Josh, she had known him practically all of her life, and Josh was like an older brother to her. All older brothers have annoying habits, and to say that Josh was an exception would be, well, lying. While most of the things that bugged Becca were harmless (leaving his room a mess, eating everything in sight) he did have a fairly serious problem when it came to how many girls he insisted on dating. Almost none of these girls lasted a month.  
  
Josh always did love to play games, and he played to win. Once he won, though, he lost almost all interest whatsoever, only to move on to a new game. His philosophy was the same on just about every woman. Making a mysterious girl or one that was notoriously hard to get fall head over heels in love with him was practically a hobby in his little world. A particularly annoying hobby, especially when it involved Becca's friends or someone that she knew was particularly naïve. That was just cheating, when in Becca's point of view there was a clear set of rules.  
  
However, Josh never seemed to have been introduced to that rulebook.  
  
And this game was just starting. It would be an interesting one, since there wasn't only one girl for Josh to pursuit, but a girl chasing him as well. This was nothing new, of course. Most people tended to be blind to Josh's (many) faults, and girls developing huge crushes on him were just everyday occurrences by that point.  
  
Then again, Josh had never set his sights on someone quite like Alanna. Naturally, people claiming to be from a country never heard of that sounded quite a bit like England in the medieval ages didn't happen regularly...   
  
"Oh, well, now your shift's over, right, Josh? Can you come have a snow cone with us, or maybe we can work off all those calories we just ingested!" Hannah exclaimed cheerfully. "I mean, buttery popcorn and peanut M&Ms. I'm doomed, and the new coach will just kill me!"  
  
Giving a good-natured laugh, Melissa said, "Well, I can't say yes to a real workout, but it is April. Becca, do you think that your family's pool is ready to go for the summer season yet? I got a new swimsuit recently, and it's just waiting for a chance to be shown off."  
  
Josh had been sneaking glances at Alanna through the conversation, and was suddenly thrust into a daydream about exactly how Alanna would look in a little string bikini at Melissa's mention of a swimsuit. "I think that's a great idea!" he said, a bit too quickly. "My shift will be ending in about twenty minutes, so if you gorgeous ladies want to just hang around and make me look good until then, that's fine with me." Hannah gave a little giggle and was clearly ready to start flirting, but Becca couldn't stomach it.  
  
"Well, I really think that we should go ahead and get our swimsuits. I'll meet you all at my house in thirty. Okay with everyone?' Nods of consent were given all around the group, and Lea murmured something about needing to call her mom. "That'll be fine, Lea, we'll drop you off at your house for a little while. Alanna, I have to go to the restroom, do you?" Alanna gave a nod, as that seemed to be expected, and Melissa made a quick excuse. They headed off towards the neon sign flashing "WOMEN," leaving Hannah to flirt with Josh and Lea to call her mother.  
  
As they got into the restroom, it became clear to Alanna that neither girl actually had to use the facilities. "Okay, so Josh is, like, totally crushin' on you," Melissa informed her. "I read an article about it in last month's Teen People. I think it was called 'How to Tell He Likes You,' or something like that. Anyways, Josh shows all the signs. Going out of his way to do stuff with you, sitting next to you in the movie theater, flirting with you—and cause you have, you know, boobs. He isn't terribly selective. Not to make you feel bad, or anything," she added quickly.  
  
Becca sighed. "Mel, when will you learn? I'm sure Alanna doesn't have any clue what we're talking about. In places where there are knights, there's, like, no such thing as crushes. Especially when you're in training to be one. The common girls get to sigh after the really hot guys, but no one marries for love. Just for, like, political alliances."  
  
Looking at Becca in astonishment, Melissa asked, "Um, how do you know that? You totally hate history. Even more than you hate science. Though that my be because your science teacher, like, so sucks."  
  
"Well, I had a good teacher in eighth grade," Becca shrugged. "She liked to tell us about the Middle Ages. How all of these people did these really wonderful things, and saved the princesses, only to get the princess's head cut off. And how Queen Elizabeth might have been sought after by princes in kings in, like, all these different countries, but she really wasn't very attractive. Ms. Likimy, you remember her. Of course, you didn't get to have her, cause you were stuck in a classroom with the evil teacher who thought he was Harry Potter, but whatever."  
  
Melissa murmured quietly, "Wow. I never heard of a class you actually listened in. You never needed to, Becca," she added quickly. "I mean, since you're totally smart and all and have about a 4.0 GPA. Anyways, we're not here to talk about GPAs. Alanna, do you like Josh?"  
  
Becca rolled her eyes. "Mel, we just went through this. What she wants to know, Alanna, is if you'd like to spend some time with Josh. And hold his hand and kiss him and, it being Josh, possibly have sex with him."  
  
Alanna's eyes widened to about twice their normal size. "I can't have sex with him! I don't even know him! And having a child would not exactly help me in becoming a knight—when no one at the palace knows I'm a girl!"  
  
"Um, that isn't exactly something that Josh cares about. Number one, he doesn't know that you're, like, trying to become a knight without anyone at the palace figuring out. Is everything in your country, Telltale or whatever, so sexist? Because that's like total discrimination. Maybe it's not illegal there. But anyways, he is going to be the ultimate college boy. Except that all of these girls' mothers will adore him, and be sooo pleased when they think that Josh is going to propose to their daughters on graduation day or something, and that a nice boy like him would never, ever sleep with their darlings. These are people that don't know him. He would be perfectly willing to make out—at the least—with a girl that he'd just met that very day. That is, if she was pretty, didn't wear too much make- up, is over five feet, and has boobs. Sometimes the makeup rule can be broken, especially when Josh has been in Vegas recently and has spent too much time hanging out with all the showgirls there, which he does, oh, every few months. Or something," Melissa explained.  
  
All Alanna could do was blink for a moment, still trying to process Melissa's unbelievably long speech. "Ah. So. What if that girl's already betrothed? And what am I supposed to do about Josh?"  
  
Becca laughed. "Josh doesn't exactly care if someone's... engaged. Or has a boyfriend, whichever. And what to do about Josh..." she them in obvious relief. Apparently Hannah hadn't stopped flirting with him the winked. "Have fun with him, darlin'."  
  
Oh, yeah. That was helpful.  
  
The three girls exited the restroom and met up with the others. Josh greeted them with obvious relief. Apparently, Hannah had been flirting with him the entire time that she was left alone with him. Melissa couldn't help but think that he deserved it. After all, he'd certainly led Hannah on before. And what else was she supposed to do, with no one else there to keep them company? The girl wasn't stupid.  
  
Lea returned from calling her mother. It must have been a hard phone call to settle, Melissa thought. Otherwise it wouldn't have taken nearly so long. "Guys, I can't go to the pool party," Lea announced gloomily, as she stuck her cell phone with its new sparkly pink cover back into her khaki purse. "I guess I'll just have to come some other time. Mom has just finished informing me that Samantha has taken off for Bermuda and so the Sib-beasts have no poor soul getting paid to keep them from breaking down the roof."  
  
Hannah smiled quickly, then remembered to turn it into a grimace. "Oh, that's too bad, Lea. Well, Samantha will be back soon, right? And then no more beastiesitting.' That was their personal term for when Lea had to baby-sit her younger siblings, who were very much out of control just about all the time. Lea was forced into beastiesitting quite a lot, since their babysitter Samantha was fairly flaky and did a secretary's job at a travel agency as well, so she got cheap packages to exotic locations all the time. However, it couldn't be denied that Samantha was good with kids. Becca noted that Hannah seemed to be happy that Lea was going. Pretty as Lea was, Hannah's chief competition for Josh that day was very certainly going to be the mysterious and slightly clueless Alanna.  
  
It was going to be an interesting party.  
  
Much to Jonathan's relief, George had finally calmed down. It had taken three quarters of an hour and another pint of lemonade, but it had happened. Now George was simmering down from the occasional outburst to only mumbling under his breath. This was a very good thing, in Jon's mind. A furious King of the Court of the Rogue that was also illegally armed and surrounded by his "subjects" was a fearsome thing.  
  
Cocking an eyebrow at Jonathan, George asked, "So, Johnny. Alanna's disappeared thanks to a mage. Now, I can tell you're not lying, but how would I be able to help get her back? I can send out spies to all the corners of the kingdom, but you know I don't have the Gift. How is it that you expect for me to be able to wave a little magic wand and make her simply materialize in front of us? No, you know that I can't do that. You know I can't do any of that—so what are you doing here?"  
  
Ah. Now he remembered just why it was George was the youngest King of the Court of the Rogue in Corus' illustrative history. At least, since anyone could remember, or since the legend about a younger king died "Well," Jonathan said hesitantly, "I'm not quite sure. I guess that I just kind of thought that you'd... be able to help."  
  
George heaved a huge sigh and lowered his voice considerably. "And to think that you're Tortall's future king. Of course, usually you're a tad more helpful than this, so maybe we have hope. Johnny, I can send spies out to all over the country, and I will do so without a second thought. Or at least a third. Have you tried scrying for her? I seem to remember Alanna saying that you were always good at that."  
  
The suggestion seemed a bit too obvious, and Jonathan was left wondering why in the name of Mithros he hadn't thought of it before. "That would make sense," he said. "But if she's somewhere that we've never heard of, or if I can't identify the location, how would that help?"  
  
"Good question, lad. A good question that you know I don't need to answer. Now, do you prefer a mirror or a bowl of water when you're scrying?"  
  
Driving back to Melissa's house after the movies, Alanna was seized with an idea for trying to get back home. After Hannah and Lea had been dropped off, she asked, "Do either of you have a looking-glass?"  
  
Becca and Melissa exchanged glances of confusion. "Well, yeah," Becca said after a few seconds. "Mirrors all over the place in my house."  
  
"Excellent. Can I use one? One that I can hold in my hand would be great."  
  
"Will this one do?" George asked Jonathan impatiently. He had already supplied the prince with easily half a dozen mirrors, all of which had been rejected. This was the last mirror that he had, and if Jon couldn't make do with one of them, then he was just going to have to use a bowl of water. Possibly the most unusual of any of George's mirrors, it was in the shape of a lioness, and had the actual mirror where her wide- open mouth would be. The smooth glass was tinted blue, a deep, midnight blue that would cause people to stare at it and wonder just how it had come to be that color. It was undeniably George's favorite mirror and he really had not wanted to let Jon use it. George was all too aware of scrying's possible side effects.  
  
Jon took the mirror from George to hold for a moment and see whether or not it would suit him. Power sliced through him like a sword as it was in his hands, and he could only stand and gaze at it for a few minutes, transfixed. "Yes," he finally said. "This one will do quite well."   
  
Becca made a few trips around her house, searching for all the hand- held mirrors. The first one was a cotton candy pink that said Princess across the top. This, as well as the black compact mirror Becca kept in her purse, the silver-plated mirror from her mother's bathroom, and the locker mirror. Melissa had grown nearly as exasperated as Becca when the last mirror was produced.  
  
Alanna instantly fell in love with this last mirror. Though it was small, the outer edges and back were blends between a royal blue and rich purple, with small rhinestones decorating it. Somehow she just knew that this would be the perfect mirror for scrying. "This is absolutely perfect. Thank you very much," she said, desperately trying to come up with an excuse for being alone in the little time she had. Suddenly Alanna lifted a hand to her head and stumbled a bit. "Oh, I have such a headache... Becca, would it be all right for me to just rest for a bit while the pool party gets started?"  
  
Melissa and Becca's faces instantly fell into looks of great sympathy. "I have some Advil I can get you, Alanna. It's right in the bathroom, just hang on a second—"  
  
Alanna quickly cut her off by saying, "No, I really don't think it's a good idea for me to take Advil. You never know, I might have some horrible reaction to it. I really think that I would be fine if I just lay here for a while. And can I keep the mirror with me? I have one exactly like it at home, and it would make me feel more comfortable." Great Mother Goddess, forgive me for lying, Alanna prayed, feeling a pang of guilt. She had forgotten to pray to her patron goddess since she reached Pembrook. At this thought, her face grew pale, which obviously convinced the other girls.  
  
Nodding, Becca said, "I think that would be fine. Josh will be disappointed, but that's okay, it'll just make my day. Or possibly week. And I won't be needing the mirror when I'm in the pool! We'll just leave you now, so that you can get some rest. Swimsuits are in the fourth drawer, I think you're my size. Call us if you need help!" Melissa dragged her out of the room before Becca could continue anything.  
  
With a sigh of relief, Alanna sat down on the floor to peer into the mirror, concentrating as hard as she could on a mental picture of Corus. More specifically, the Dancing Dove, with Jonathan and George inside of it.  
  
Jonathan looked deeply into the lioness's blue mouth, concentrating as hard as he could on the image he had of Alanna, riding, sword fighting... there were many such images. Realizing that wherever Alanna was, she probably wouldn't be looking the same as she always did to him, Jonathan tried to just block out the surroundings in the picture, just concentrating on her face as hard as he possibly could.  
  
...to be continued!  
  
A/N: Pitiful, I know. But I'm just going to go ahead and move onto the reviews without trying to excuse myself.  
  
Lady Aioria: Do you mean when Alanna will be back in Tortall? If that's your question, probably either the last chapter or the second-to-last. Thanks for reviewing—I don't remember seeing your name before, and I really like it.  
  
Robinwyn: Yeah, I figured that it took them long enough to start looking for her—it wasn't exactly something that you could just not notice. Well, Labyrinth... I saw it in a Theatre Arts classroom on the last two days before winter break when we all just wanted to get out of there. And it creeped me out. I'm sorry that I haven't reviewed on all your updates—as it says above, our internet connection has been broken for FOREVER and it's finally fixed, so I could only use the computer every once in a while at my mom's work. Yeah... well, updating soon didn't really happen, so... I guess that request wasn't made clear. And I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to next update, because on Sunday I'm leaving on vacation for a week, and then I'll be out at my lake house with no internet connection, so I'm actually going to have to do, like, the entire chapter all at once. Fun!  
  
A/N: Sorry, I've kind of gotten to the point where I'll only reply to long reviews/reviews with questions in them, though I LOVED Divine-Bovine's review—thanks so much for finding out how to say it in all those languages! Also thanks to levaire, kasuima, Kyanna Silverstone, and Warrior of Destiny. Tell people to REVIEW so that I will be happy and post!!! : ) Until next time! 


	5. 5 Apology

Hey all.  
  
Look, I'm really sorry, and I really don't want to have to say this, though by now you probably know what's coming.  
  
"The Texan and the Tortallan" is being put on hold, probably permanently as an abandoned story. I honestly have no desire to finish the story at all, and much as I'll miss all the reviews, fanfiction just isn't working for me. I can't deal with the deadline of updating a chapter and constantly feeling like I'm letting people down. It's funny for me to be saying that, since I'm letting people down by writing this.  
  
Much as I loved getting feedback, I absolutely hated not being able to use my own characters as the central part of the plot. Choosing everything about my stories is very important to me, and it's the one place I have complete control. So having to use Tamora Pierce's creations instead of mine was a bit of an issue for a control freak like me.  
  
If anyone would genuinely like to continue the story and keep going with it, e-mail me and I'll forward you the attachments or whatever to get you started. If you want where I was going, I'll be glad to help. Overall, for fanfiction, I'd much rather be a beta than an actual writer.  
  
Another big part of this is that my aunt just died and her son was Josh, so writing about a character based on him would have brought a lot of pain for me. I just couldn't face up to the challenge, however great it might be for me to get over her death.  
  
Thanks so much for reading what I had so far, though. It really meant a lot to me to come home and read all the positive reviews you sent me.  
  
So... reader responses  
  
S—I really had no plans whatsoever for Jonathan to be able to go to Texas as well. However, whoever continues the story next will have that decision to make. I'm glad you liked it.  
  
Fyliwion—Thanks! I love to hear from people who are also from Texas. I will admit that I also typically don't like the time-travel, but it tends to be people going to Tortall. Personally, I liked taking Alanna to Texas instead, and making up a town—more of my control issues, lol! Well, sorry that I'm not going on with the story but I'm glad that you've enjoyed it.  
  
Jowa—I was definitely going to have one of Alanna's major temper tantrums coming up soon, involving something that Josh did not knowing that it would offend her. Yeah, Alanna was probably straying from character quite a bit—but who wouldn't in a situation like that? : ) Thanks!  
  
Kyanna Silverstone—When I first started "The Texan...", I considered having Melissa and Becca making a visit in return. However, I decided that it would just be too weird to happen to have your friends from, oh, by the way, another universe, drop in for tea. So there wasn't going to be any reunion for them by me. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Robinwyn—I was really looking forward to doing the scrying bit, but I just couldn't get inspiration for it. Okay, so I got a little messed up on the Sight. I... kind of figured that since Alanna was in another universe the Sight would be totally out of whack and not working and then conveniently forgot about it when I was actually writing the chapter. I'm sure that Alanna would have enjoyed a big visit to the Wal-Mart or whatever they had, but again, not happening with me. I'm also terribly sorry that I haven't reviewed your story. Honestly, I haven't reviewed anything at all since... let me check... June 10. And since you are a far better person than I at keeping up with updates, I haven't been able to get your story. I apologize and will try to in the future, but I can't promise anything.  
  
Also, thanks to: equestrianbabe101, Turntable Aurora, and Divine-Bovines for their reviews.  
  
Thanks also to those who I made it on Favorites: kasuima, Kyanna Silverstone  
  
And to those who had me on Author Alert: MistyFox14, pranksterqueen, kasuima, Ddri, Kyanna Silverstone, Robinwyn  
  
If I get a sudden inspiration and actually write a whole fanfic and not do chapters as I go, I hope to see you all again, and I'll certainly try e- mailing. Thanks again for following Alanna's little journey in Texas!  
  
Ally 


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